Crosses On Water Towers

Is it a violation for a church to own the water tower and sell its services to the city?

I'm going to say no, it's not a violation, because there's been at least one notable case where the government attempted to sell the offending property to a group interested in preserving some crosses, and the anti-theistic organizations sued to stop the sale.

Remember, the goal isn't to make sure the Church and State are separated completely, it's to remove all mention of religion from public view. If it's owned by an individual or a church, then it's clearly protected speech to have whatever symbols they like on their property. This is why they fought so hard to keep Mt Soledad from being sold to a private entity.

So, Churches, start building your own water towers and selling water to the local municipality. Hell, give the water away! That way everyone wins!

You could even make the tower cross shaped!

I'm going to bet the next lawsuit from The Freedom From Religion Foundation will be to forbid via permitting and zoning the construction of water towers with religious symbolism.